


Making Alliances

by Eustacia Vye (eustaciavye)



Series: Walking Yggdrasil [4]
Category: Guardians of the Galaxy (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Avengers: Age of Ultron (Movie) Compliant, BAMF Natasha Romanov, Dom Natasha Romanov, Dom/sub Play, F/M, Femdom, Infinity Gems, Post-Avengers: Age of Ultron (Movie), Sensation Play, Sub Loki
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-05
Updated: 2016-01-05
Packaged: 2018-05-11 23:29:15
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,019
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5645731
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eustaciavye/pseuds/Eustacia%20Vye
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Loki and Natasha don't have resources to track down the other Infinity Stones on their own. Time to find some...</p>
            </blockquote>





	Making Alliances

"You said the next Infinity Stone could be on some other planet," Natasha told Loki. They were sitting in a restaurant on Solarium Prime, a bright and festive planet that had a thriving interstellar trade and tourist industry. It was somewhat tropical in climate, but very different from Galion. At the very least, the different genders appeared to be equal in value and ranking on the surface, so Natasha could wear her own face and dress in her own clothes without having to hide in plain sight.

Loki wore glamour over himself, blurring his features so that he was rather unremarkable. He could be any race that was vaguely humanoid and had similar coloring. Still light skinned with dark hair, it curled and was close cropped for a change. He wore clothing similar in style to hers, subtly indicating that they were together at the restaurant.

"Lusatia." He frowned at her. "But the tales weren't sure."

"They were spot on for the other one."

"Lusatians are not humanoid. More insectile, and their planet's atmosphere would be poisonous to us. It's really an ideal hiding place for it."

"And you said they're isolationist."

"Just so." He poked at his food listlessly. "I hope the stories are wrong about it."

"Then maybe we should go looking again, just to be sure."

Looking up at her, Loki pressed his lips together. "You doubt me."

"Whispers across the galaxy about ancient artifacts that hold incredible power. Wouldn't you lie to someone to keep that kind of treasure for yourself?"

He pondered that statement, then nodded. "Very well. It was a different source than the one that told me of Galion."

"But do you trust that source?"

"The only one I trust in this endeavor is you."

Natasha blinked in surprise. "Well, I have a vested interest in keeping my home planet safe."

"As do I," he replied lightly. "If we start at the beginning, we'll need to go back to the Ravager groups that I spoke to."

"Spoke to?" she echoed doubtfully. "Or tricked?"

Loki's smile was feral. "Is there a difference?"

She chuckled and shook her head. "Likely not. How do you suppose we do this, then?"

"I had posed as a purveyor of artifacts last time," Loki admitted. "And I may have used a touch of _seidr_ to convince them to work with me."

"Easier than torture," Natasha replied with a shrug. "Now what?"

"Considering I never bought anything, they wouldn't want to see the same contact." He pulled a disgusted face. "Plus, I am not as fond of the role as I should be for that ploy to work."

Natasha wisely didn't comment on his time on Galion. "And our search didn't pan out too well, so the other brokers were a bust. Now what?"

Loki looked downright unhappy. "I suppose there are the Ravagers."

"The Ravagers. Who are they and what are they all about?"

"Mercenaries. Unsavory folk." Loki shrugged. "Their reputation is of thieves, smugglers, pirates, the kind that would do anything for hire if the pay was right." His mouth pressed into a fine line. "They have no home. Just signal frequencies to the Eclector, and then their M ships will go to whatever rendezvous point that is agreed upon."

"What does it take to join them?"

Loki stared at her, lips parted in surprise at her mildly asked question. "What?"

"You don't have a home, and for the moment, neither do I. We have skill sets that will help get us in with them, and they probably have a network on the lookout for things. And didn't you say that one of them had the Orb?"

"It's disappeared."

"They might know where."

"I doubt Yondu would let us steal it from him."

"Who said he had to _let_ us?"

Now he smiled at her, a manic, razor sharp one. "Oh, I like this."

"Somehow, I thought you might."

***

Yondu Udonta was the leader of the Ravagers, a Centaurian who somehow made the ragtag band of mercenaries under his command into a feared group. Natasha was reminded of the glamour that Loki had used on several occasions after they left Yggdrasil's branches to comb the galaxy for the Infinity Stones. He kept a jovial smile on his face, but with the casual talk of murder and robbery, Natasha knew that his good graces only extended as far as the credit line did. She knew this kind of man, and had told Loki she should take the lead on talking with him. Loki had protested, of course, but she very reasonably told him that a completely different approach should be used so that Yondu or his men wouldn't link it to his prior contact with them. That mollified him a bit, but he still sulked and didn't want to be left out.

So when Yondu's men removed him at gunpoint, he snarled and nearly killed three of the men before Yondu whistled his Yaka arrow into position at Loki's throat. Yaka was sound sensitive, and the metal already defied gravity. Natasha managed to be impressed but not intimidated as Yondu doubtlessly wanted her to be. Loki's eyes flashed with warning, his fingers almost twitching the way Wanda's would when she was about to cast magic. Natasha shook her head in a subtle shake, and Loki subsided. The arrow was whistled harmlessly back to Yondu.

"Let's talk, then," Yondu said, sitting down at the table in Loki's forcibly vacated seat.

"It's a business proposition, of course," Natasha replied coolly. "But first things first. I don't appreciate the way your men manhandled mine."

"He lacks the proper respect he should have to survive in business like this. Let it go too long, and he'll get you killed."

"I'm aware."

"I could always have my men slit his throat, help you out." Yondu's smile was all teeth, meant to frighten, his Yaka arrow in its holster glinting as he shifted in the seat.

"I'm rather attached," Natasha said in a droll tone. "Please don't."

"Oh, so you're a couple, then?" Yondu said, his smile a predatory show of teeth.

"I've just broken him in," she replied with a shrug. "It would be a shame to waste all the work."

Now he laughed, genuinely amused. "You know, I like you. Where'd you say you were from?"

"I didn't."

His laughter continued. "You're not Spartoi, are you?"

"No."

"Good. Most of 'em are self righteous assholes."

"Good to know," Natasha replied. "I'll steer clear."

"So where'd you get your training?"

"The Red Room."

Yondu frowned at her. "I'm not familiar with that group."

"You probably wouldn't. They're gone now, anyway."

"Why? What happened? Nova Corps got 'em?"

"I burned it all down."

That surprised him enough to blink before laughing again. "You have a lot of nerve to come here talking that way."

"I have the skills to back it up."

"Maybe, but I doubt you'll be faster than my arrow."

"Maybe not, but I could still take you out before I die."

Her dispassionate tone had the smile sliding off his face. "What's this about then, girl?"

"I'm looking for a particular stone," she began.

"Not another one," Yondu huffed, leaning back in his chair.

"Another one?"

"The Orb. You've heard of the Battle with Nova Prime?" Natasha nodded in a bored manner, even though she hadn't. "It carried a stone in it. Would've destroyed the entire galaxy, they said," Yondu said. He gave a short huff of laughter, as if he couldn't believe it was true. "Destroyed Ronan the Accuser, anyway."

"That's not the stone I'm looking for, though it sounds interesting. Where is it?"

"Knowing Quill? Nova Corps, most likely." Yondu seemed almost fond of this Quill, and Natasha filed that away for later.

Natasha shrugged. "Oh, well. Anyway, the stone I'm looking for is different. Doesn't destroy planets and galaxies."

"More's the pity. Holding entire planets for ransom would've been fun."

"Unwieldy for a hasty retreat," Natasha replied. "An entire planet's treasury would be hard to move quickly."

"Not if the planet's not there to try to get it back."

She nodded at him as if conceding a point. "Anyway, can we bring my associate back into this conversation? He knows more about the stone in question."

"He gets on my nerves."

"I didn't say you had to like him."

Yondu laughed again. "You got a current crew?"

"Just me and him, why?"

"Think you might want to run with the Ravagers for a bit? The Battle killed a few of our guys, and I like your attitude."

"That hard up for men you'll take on newbies sight unseen?"

"Not exactly unseen."

"You haven't seen me fight."

"I'd say this was an interview for me, too. If you can sit there without flinching as my arrow whizzes around the room, you're someone to keep an eye for. And you carry yourself like you know what you're doing."

"Because I do."

"And I don't think you're showing off."

"I'm not," Natasha agreed.

"We'll talk with your boy in the room about this stone you want so bad that you're willing to work for me to get it."

"With you," Natasha corrected mildly. "It's not the only thing I need to find, Yondu, and I don't know if your connections are far reaching enough to get me everything."

"Well, then, little lady, I guess we're about to find out."

***

"I don't like this."

"I didn't say that you would," Natasha replied, reading the book Yondu had found for her about elemental phasers. Lounging across the bed, she didn't even bother to look up at Loki, who was pacing relentlessly across the length of the quarters they had been assigned on the Eclector.

"We should exit and continue the search for the Stones alone."

Natasha closed the book and sighed as she laid it down on her stomach. "Is it because they don't know who you are?"

"It's best that they don't. I would assume they would ransom me back to Asgard if they knew. If they even knew where Asgard is," he added darkly

"Though they all think you're dead," Natasha pointed out.

"Their grief would fade quickly, I'm sure," he spat. "All they see is the rage."

Good God, save her from moody, self important bastards. Just because he _could_ love her didn't mean that he actually did. Natasha didn't see any of the odd softness toward her once there was distance between him and the Soul Stone; it was impossible to tell if it was because of that distance or because he didn't want to appear weak in front of her. Perhaps it was both, and he was angry at himself for exposing a weakness to her that she could exploit. Natasha never forgot who he was or what he was capable of, yet he seemed to be startled by her every once in a while, as if he had forgotten she was just as good a manipulator as he was.

"You're feeling unsettled," Natasha observed, folding her hands over the book on her stomach. She wasn't going to get any reading done today. Perhaps Yondu would allow her to hang onto it for a while longer, or get her a digital copy. She was sure that Tony would love to get his hands on tech like this to upgrade his armor or the various Avengers locations.

That made her wonder about the others, what they were up to, what was happening on Earth in her absence. Her copy would do whatever she would, but it wasn't exactly the same. She wanted to be there with them. She wanted to watch their backs and know there were people she could trust to watch hers. It was tiring to be on guard all the time, even if she was used to it. Oh, she could trust that Loki wouldn't knife her while she was asleep, and would prevent any of the Ravagers on the ship from doing the same. But she couldn't actually trust him, and had to keep several layers of personae in between them.

It should have frightened her how easy it was to do it, even after trying to dismantle all her separate selves for Steve and Bruce and Sam. It should have, but it didn't. The familiarity was comforting, actually, and not having her true self exposed made her feel safer.

What did it say about her, then? Maybe a relationship with Bruce could never have gotten off the ground for real, but she would have liked to try. She could be a real person if she tried, not just a collection of shadow selves.

 _Where else can I get a view like this?_ she had told Steve in Sokovia, meaning it. She had been ready to sacrifice everything for others. She supposed this dash across the galaxy was doing the same thing, sacrificing her friendships and comforts to save worlds of people she didn't even know, but it didn't feel the same. The immediate effects weren't there for her to see. She knew logically that billions would live instead of suffer or be killed by Thanos, but it didn't carry the same kind of impact as seeing the direct results.

Loki stopped pacing abruptly, startling her out of her thoughts. His expression was a twisted mass of vulnerability suddenly, as if he was completely overwhelmed and unable to put his mask of disdain back on. He either trusted her enough to let her see it, or didn't count her as a threat to his safety. Natasha wasn't sure if she should feel flattered or insulted.

He dropped to his knees in front of her, bowing his head. "Tsarina," he murmured.

Sitting up, Natasha put the book aside. "Well, then. You really _are_ out of sorts. Not used to being a servant. Not used to being pushed aside. You're so _angry,_ but you can't use it right now. You have to hide it, change it, but can't do that on your own. You never learned how," she guessed.

The assumption must have hit home, because he jerked his head up, eyes blazing with utter loathing and hatred. "You will _never_ speak to me like that!"

She slapped him full across the face.

His head snapped back; he hadn't been prepared for it, hadn't expected it, and there was a look of dull shock on his slack face. The anger was back once the shock faded, but it wasn't as angry as before. This he knew, then. The touch starvation was kicking in, she supposed, and she had to stop and think for a moment. It had been a few weeks since Galion, more or less; she was still unused to how time passed with all this interstellar travel. In that time, they'd had sex once, a hurried and rather uninspired coupling as part of their cover as lovers in need of a private space because of their desire. Once the poor fool that walked in on them left the room, they had continued searching it for clues as to who might be looking for rare and powerful items. There hadn't been any, which was why they wound up looking for Yondu.

Natasha grabbed him by the hair at the back of his skull and yanked down hard, leaning over him with a determined expression. "It's been too long, hasn't it? Is that what it is? You have no one to fight, so you're going to be a little shit and fight me? Not a good way to deal with your energy, and it's a waste of resources."

"Your archer was wrong about you," he hissed, lips stretched back in a ghastly grin. "You have no feeling, no fear. That's what drew you to your monster, isn't it? Because you are one yourself, and you don't belong with mortals."

Her mouth stretched wide in a fearsome smile that usually had others pissing themselves in fear, and she caught a flash of satisfaction in Loki's gaze. Oh, yes, he was baiting her. He wanted to be seen, he wanted to be noticed, and this was the way he'd grown used to it. He couldn't handle softer emotions, as that would be weakness. But anger, loathing, rage... all those flavors of darker emotions could be handled. That was safe for him.

This was downright predictable and annoying, really.

"Create the box."

"No."

She tightened her fist in his hair and curled her other hand around his throat, nails digging into his skin. Loki smiled, his hands still resting on his knees. He didn't move any other muscles otherwise, enjoying this reaction in her.

"You're disobeying your Tsarina."

"And what are you going to do about it?"

"Discipline you," she said briskly.

He laughed until she punched him in the mouth, his lip splitting on his teeth. His hands flew off his knees as he instinctively tried to keep his balance, and she let go of his hair to grasp his hands to twist them behind his back. Before Loki could get his equilibrium back, she shifted her grip as she moved behind him, then pushed forward. That unbalanced him enough that he fell forward, his face hitting the bunk she had been sitting on. His breath knocked out of him, Natasha leaned forward and ripped the sheet off the bunk. Whipping it around a bit, she essentially hogtied him with the sheet and then wedged a loose corner into his mouth as a gag.

Not once did he fight back, even though he easily could have.

"It itches under your skin, doesn't it?" Natasha said mildly as she stood up, no longer touching him. "The need. A crawling hunger you can't explain. No one understands it, least of all you, and so you don't know how to feed it. You're helpless to it. A mindless thing. Wanting. Needing. You want to think you're so strong against it, but all you have is yourself and your limited understanding, so how else could you do this? How else can you get the itch out, than to be a nasty little asshole and provoke everyone around you?" She moved out of his line of sight then, and sat on the narrow desk built into the wall. "Have you ever thought about _asking_ me for this? That you want to play and have me be the Tsarina?"

Loki made a questioning noise behind the gag in his mouth, but otherwise didn't move. He was listening, then, plotting something for later. She had to assume it would be vindictive in nature, given that he was chaos personified.

The shimmer she had seen before in his hideaway was starting, and she tapped his leg with her foot. "Uh-uh, no cheating with magic." He made a startled noise, as he hadn't expected her to realize he was about to cast a spell. She couldn't help but smile a little, especially since he couldn't see her expression. "You are going to stay right there until I say your punishment is done. And then if you've learned your lesson, we'll see what comes next."

She sat for a few minutes in absolute silence, then hopped off the desk. Loki tensed fractionally, not sure if she was going to touch him or not, but she completely avoided his prone body and picked up Yondu's book. Sitting back on the desk, she began to read where she had left off, occasionally glancing up to be sure Loki was following her direction.

Believe it or not, now he was.

When she finished the chapter, she could see the tremors in Loki's limbs. It wasn't straining against the sheet, but the tension of keeping himself absolutely still instead of falling into the floor. His eyes were open, staring at a spot on the side of the bunk, lower lip quivering slightly around the gag.

Getting down from the table, Natasha ran a fingernail along the nape of his neck. "See?" she crooned as he shivered. "I said I'd gotten you broken in."

Loki didn't make a sound or even flinch. Glory hallelujah, he could be taught.

"My rules are very simple, aren't they?" she continued in that same tone. "Maybe they're not all explicitly stated. Is that a problem? Maybe they should be." She ran her nail between his shoulder blades, not smiling when his breath caught in his throat. "Do we need that? Some kind of contract between us? Make it magically binding?" Easing the gag out of his mouth, she leaned in closer so that her lips were next to his ear. "Is that what you need, Loki?"

"No, Tsarina," he rasped.

"Why not?"

"Because then I'd have to break them even more."

She allowed herself a small smile. "You don't feel comfortable asking for what you need, do you? Especially if you don't even understand what it is you need."

"A prince does not _ask,"_ Loki replied stiffly, a thread of haughtiness in his tone.

"Here, you're not a prince," she reminded him, breath warm next to his ear. "You're Loki, a man at my side with a lot of tricks up his sleeve. There's no army at your command. There's no fleet, no backup, no entourage. It's just you and me, the detritus of the galaxy, and all up against Thanos and the powers he has at his disposal."

"You aren't detritus."

She'd meant the Ravagers, but would accept the backhanded compliment anyway. "And neither are you. But you feel that way, don't you? Forgotten and unseen, leaving no mark behind unless it's in a shower of rage."

He didn't respond in words, but the pitch of his breathing changed slightly. She would have missed it if she wasn't looking for a response from him.

Slowly unwinding the sheet from his wrists and ankles, Natasha soothed the angry skin with her fingers gently. She made soft shushing noises, kneeling over him, brushing against his body whenever possible. "Have you ever considered the quiet marks you could leave behind? Nothing big and showy, but private. Personal. _Intimate."_ Her final words were punctuated by strokes along his spine, dipping into the hollow above his buttocks with the word intimate. Loki let his forehead drop to the floor at that point, a subtle arch along his spine like a cat. "Your own mark on the universe, the sign that you've been here, that you exist."

"What's the use if no one else can see it?"

"It's for you to know, not everyone else. They don't matter."

"Of course they do!" he bit out before he could press his lips shut.

"Roll onto your back," Natasha commanded in a lazy tone. Once he did, she could see the air of confusion in his eyes, though he tried to keep his expression impassive. The desperate itch in his soul didn't have a name he recognized, didn't have an outlet. He was too caught up in his own mind, twisted into knots of self loathing, loneliness, anger and doubt. Without something to push against, he didn't know what he was.

And she was beginning to suspect that his behavior on Galion had nothing to do with the Soul Stone after all. It had forced him to realize he was truly alone, that he hadn't planned this out as well as he thought he had. Loki was dependent on her cooperation and her knowledge in getting the stones, and he never once thought about what he would do with them once he got them away from Thanos. He didn't have the strength of will to wield them, and even one in Thanos' hands was too much power for the Titan.

Natasha slowly undid the layers of clothing on Loki's body, her touch light and soothing. When she took his cock in hand, his breath hissed out between his teeth and his eyes were locked onto her placid expression. "Sometimes, Loki," she told him a quiet tone, "the best influence you can be is the silent one. The shadow no one sees, but effects the greatest change."

"That's the coward's way out."

She shook her head and scratched the perineum lightly. "Who am I, Loki?"

"Tsarina."

"Who else?" she prodded.

He frowned at her. "Right now? That's all."

"No, that's not all," she murmured. "And that's the difference between us, isn't it? I can be whoever I need to be, but you are only you. You don't know how to leave pieces of yourself behind when they no longer work."

Now his gaze was sharp, assessing, likely seeing more than she wanted him to. "What do you get out of this, other than a safe planet?"

"That's what I wanted from this deal."

"But you get something else, don't you? Were you telling the truth about your ledger? That you want to wipe out some of the red?"

Dipping a finger down toward his rear entrance, she looked at him impassively when he froze at her touch. "What do you think?"

"I think we're not playing a game anymore, Tsarina."

"We never were, were we?"

Loki gasped as she started to work his cock in earnest, stroking him firmly and deftly, her eyes never leaving his. She kept a steady rhythm as she knelt beside him, not saying anything, not turning her eyes away as his hips jerked and he clenched his fists to keep himself from grabbing hold of her. His breath hissed in and out, but he was stubborn and didn't say anything more. That was fine with her. She focused on the way his eyes dilated and lips parted, the way his nostrils flared and throat bobbed slightly as he tried to choke back his cries. He tried so hard to hide his reactions from her, but she watched him closely, catching the patterns of his movements and the subtle changes in him. It didn't surprise her when he came, spurting over her fist, but it clearly shocked him. It shocked him even more when she presented her hand for him to lick off his own semen. "Clean it off, Loki. Do be a good boy."

Her voice was even, not mocking, and after a moment he parted his lips and started to lick off her fingers and palm.

Once her hand was clean, she smiled graciously and kissed him, her tongue sliding into his mouth. "I'm so pleased with how well you take directions," she purred afterward. "I know it's a struggle to give yourself over to me, to trust me, to let go and trust that I'll protect you." She nipped at his lower lip and gave him a sultry smile. "But once you do, you get rewarded so well." She ran her hand down his bare chest. "This is what helps you calm, helps rein in the wildness and anger."

"I'm not _doing_ anything," he replied in irritation.

Natasha laughed. "And it's such work to do nothing, isn't it?"

Loki pressed his lips together in frustration, not answering her. She grasped his chin in one hand and his limp cock in her other. "I will teach you stillness, Loki. I will teach you to value silence. I will show you how to find the quiet inside of yourself."

Some distant part of her was horrified by what she was saying; the Red Room's marks never really left her, no matter what she wanted to think. But it seemed to be the best way to approach Loki's restless spirit, and he responded to the self assured way she spoke.

His lips parted, and she kissed him, tongue sliding into his mouth. "Do you want that, Loki?" she asked in a husky tone. "Do you want the quiet?"

"Yes," he hissed out as she pulled gently on his lower lip with her teeth.

"You start out with just feeling."

Taking the sheet, she wound it around his eyes and wadded the rest under his head like a pillow. She worked off the rest of his clothes, leaving him utterly naked and sprawled across the floor for her view. He was nicely shaped and toned, certainly, and she traced the lines of his muscles with her fingernails. Loki stayed still, breathing hitching on occasion as she layered feathery touches on his skin. For variety, she used the pads of her fingers or her nails, sometimes letting her hair brush across his skin. A hairpin's edge made him nearly jump, and his cock was at attention by then. Hm. Interesting.

She reduced him to a gasping, quivering mess beneath her hands, moaning and trying so hard not to writhe or arch into her touch. Natasha was wet just seeing him in that state, knowing she had done this, that he was simply a pile of nerve endings at her mercy. It was glorious, something she doubted he ever dreamed she could reduce him to, let alone that he would beg for it.

Stripping off her clothes gracelessly, Natasha mounted him. The sensation of sliding down over his full cock made him moan, and she grinned fiercely. Leaning forward to grab his shoulders, she rode him hard and fast, chasing her own pleasure. "You can't come until I say you can," she growled at him. "Don't you dare come, Loki. What you feel is mine to give you, and you get nothing else until I say so," she said as she swiveled her hips a little. Oh, that sent a delicious shock of pleasure though her, and her throaty moan made Loki whimper.

"Who am I, Loki?" Natasha said, digging her nails into his skin as she pumped her hips harder over him. "Who am I?"

"Tsarina," he gasped, biting his lip as his head tipped back. It exposed the lovely line of his throat to her, and Natasha wanted to lean down and sink her teeth into the skin. If she did that, she'd change the angle of her thrusts, and his cock was hitting the sweet spot deep inside of her that made her toes curl in pleasure.

"That's right," she growled, moving faster, making the thrusts inside of her harder and deeper, right over that spot, _right there—_

She came, clenching tight around him and hissing in pleasure. Loki groaned, head twisting from side to side, his lip caught between his teeth so hard she thought he might bleed. But he was trying so hard not to come, not to give in to the need. 

Pulling the sheet from his eyes, Natasha gave him a fierce grin, one of her most frightening ones, all teeth and dark intent in her gaze. His own expression was one of absolute adoration, and she didn't think he was even aware of it. "Good boy," she purred. "You've been such a good boy." She clenched her inner muscles around his cock, making him mewl slightly. "You can come inside me now, Loki," she continued in that same deadly tone. "Come for me. You've been good and earned that." 

Loki's eyes squeezed shut as he let go of his control and came, spurting inside of her, his body going limp with the release. He was boneless beneath her sprawled out and still. 

"This is your quiet, Loki," she said, voice dropping into a more intimate tone. "Isn't it? Here is your stillness, your peace." There was no triumph in her when he hissed out a "Yes" as if it was too difficult to even form words. He was in a blissful state, utterly relaxed, for once not chasing the restless energy beneath his skin. 

"I gave you this, Loki," Natasha continued, soothing his chest with her fingertips. "I can give you this anytime you need it. Just ask. Just call for me. No posturing, no demanding, no hiding behind lies." 

He opened his eyes, a starkly vulnerable expression on his face. Had she broken him? 

"I don't know how else to be," he admitted. 

She gave him a soft and generous smile, one she dimly realized that Madame B always gave the girls before locking them into their beds. "Let me teach you, Loki. Follow my lead, and I'll show you the way. You might have started this, but I know how to finish it. That's why you chose me to help you, isn't it? You knew I'd be able to do it." 

"You could be a goddess," Loki murmured, sliding into sleep beneath her stroking hands. 

Natasha pulled him up, cradling him against her naked chest. His mouth unerringly found a breast, and he suckled her gently, reverently. She stroked his back and rocked slightly, not entirely surprised by his reaction. Reducing him to mindless sensation left him overwhelmed and not sure what to do next. She would have to build him back up slowly, and hope that some of the edgy rage was gone by the time she was done. 

"I'm your Tsarina," she murmured, dropping her chin down to the top of his head. "That's work enough for me." 

He chuckled, a lazy and relieved sound. Was this what he had been like when younger? Thor still thought fondly of him, still remembered Loki as a playful brother, full of helpful advice as well as pranks. There had to have been something there before the anger had set in, warping the sense of loyalty and family that he'd had. 

"I don't know if I could handle a goddess," Loki admitted, nestled in her arms. 

"I can be who you want me to be," Natasha murmured, knowing it was true. "But you don't need me to be a goddess. You need me as the Tsarina, and you need me in control." 

Loki sighed. "I shouldn't. It's not right. I should be a warrior. I should be strong, worthy of being a King. I should be smarter and better than everyone else." The last part sounded almost like a sob, the sound a helpless and scared little boy would make. 

"You're smarter than most," Natasha murmured, stroking the back of his head in a soothing manner. She held him tightly when shivers wracked his body. There was the comedown she had been waiting for, the endorphin high crashing hard. "You're strong, you're talented, you're gifted in ways I probably don't understand. But you don't have focus. You don't have drive. There's no plan, no purpose. And without that, you feel lost." 

He made another choking sound, but didn't disagree. Good. 

"So we'll save the galaxy from Thanos. That's your purpose. Even if the stones are out of his reach, you have to be sure he won't find them. You'll have to protect them. I don't know how to do that. But you do, don't you?" 

"Or I can figure it out." 

"There you go," Natasha said approvingly, smiling against the crown of his head. She even dropped a kiss there, and felt him smile against her chest. "Ready for sleep?" 

"I think so," he said in a small, fragile voice 

"Then we'll sleep," Natasha said, pulling back to nod at the bunk. "And then after our rest, we'll figure out a plan to find the other stones and lock them away." 

Loki flashed her a smile, tender and grateful, and she could see an echo of the man he used to be before his own bitterness and rage had consumed him. No wonder Thor clung to that image in his memory. No wonder he kept hoping that something of that man could be saved. Thor was too optimistic for his own good sometimes. 

But if an echo was still there, maybe she could polish away the rougher edges until the echo could grow into a real facet again. Instead of a room full of girls, all Natasha had to work with was this one self important godling. 

Somehow, the amount of work felt comparable. 

He easily wrapped himself around her body on the bunk, both still sticky and sweaty. They would shower and dress later, then figure out how best to keep the alliance with the Ravagers functional without telling them about the other Infinity Stones 

It was a challenge they could both meet. 

The End


End file.
